After the Headlines  Arsons took heavy toll in Canton in 2010

Northwest Canton neighborhoods were hit the hardest this year by arsonists as the city saw a dramatic increase in purposely set fires. Vacant homes are easy targets, but the people who live in homes nearby still suffer. Fire department officials say the increase in arson cases reflects a national trend.

Timothy Foerster had $2,480 left to pay on his house last May before the brown two-story he and his teenage daughter shared was truly theirs.

Then someone burned it down — with Foerster, his daughter and her dog inside.

All three survived, but their home at 815 Michael Pl. SW was destroyed. About the same time, a fire set to a vacant house a block away burned.

That fire spread to a house next to it, waking a family of three and sending them into the street.

All three homes burned simultaneously; the result of two cases of arson.

ARSONS ARE ON THE RISE

The number of purposely set fires was dramatically higher this year — 28 more cases — than in 2009.

Arson cases in the northern half of Canton have doubled, according to Canton Fire Department statistics. And the number of purposely set fires citywide has increased by at least two-thirds.

Capt. Lorenzo Bagley of the Canton Fire Department said that, in 2009, firefighters investigated 32 cases of arson that occurred in the northern half of the city. This year, there were 61 cases as of Wednesday.

While southwest neighborhoods were hardest hit by deliberately set fires last year, northwest Canton had the bulk of arson cases — 37 — this year.

Twelve people were arrested on arson charges last year. As of last week, nine people have been charged with the crime, Bagley said. Most arsons, however, remain under investigation.

Although firebugs still are on the loose locally, Division Chief John Whitlatch said an increase in arson here reflects what’s going on in the rest of the nation.

“For the most part, it’s a national trend,” Whitlatch said.

He attributes the upswing to a poor economy, high unemployment rates and “people who don’t have something else to do.” Whitlatch believes that a high percentage of fires are set by teenagers.

“A lot of times, people really don’t understand the danger that’s involved, and the harm it can cause to other people: Residents, the neighbors, the firefighters who respond,” Bagley said.

A firefighter was injured battling one of the fires that occurred in May.

Arson typically involves vacant houses. In Canton, many of those structures are century homes, and the materials that were used to build them burns fast.

But Whitlatch said he doesn’t believe residents should live in fear of falling victim to arson.

“I don’t feel the city of Canton should be alarmed about arsonists because (the arsonist or arsonists) are not targeting occupied homes,” Whitlatch said. “We’re experiencing random, isolated arsons.”

The Foerster fire was an exception. Timothy Foerster figures whomever set it, likely mistook his home for being vacant.

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UNOCCUPIED HOMES

Angela Cavanaugh, who works in the city’s building department, estimated that the city has about 4,000 to 5,000 vacant homes. But that number changes on a daily basis.

The city tore down about 275 houses this past year.

“Those are vacant homes that have been sitting for years,” Cavanaugh said. She added the demolitions were conducted for reasons that range from severe damage stemming from a fire, to a roof collapse or a house being rendered irreparable.

Firefighters encourage residents who see someone going into a vacant house to notify police and the fire department. Bagley said descriptions of people seen entering or leaving vacant homes help investigators solve and prevent arson. (The person providing the tip can be kept anonymous.) And, he added, the Blue Ribbon Arson Task Force offers a reward of up to $5,000 for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of an arsonist.

SINCE THE FIRE

Whoever burned down Foerster’s home hasn’t been caught.

“We lost about everything we had, and we don’t have any family here (to help out),” Foerster said. “It was a little rough getting everything back together. It’s taken this long because ... you have to replace pots and pans ... then (my daughter) had to have a new coat for winter...”

His house is “still sitting there,” gutted by fire, Foerster said. “I still owe on it.”

He has noticed that, at some point after the fire, someone had kicked in the front door.

“I figure they’re after scrap metal or something,” he said. “As if having burned us out of the neighborhood wasn’t enough.”

Still, Foerster said, things are getting better — to a degree.

His daughter, Amber Wolfe, already had been attending Faith Bible Church on Firestone Road NE before the fire. And after the blaze, the church stepped in to help.

“They gave us beds, a couch and chairs, a microwave,” Foerster said.

Now the dad and daughter are getting back on their feet.

At age 9, she survived childhood cancer — non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. At 11, she lost her mother. She was 15 when her home burned down in May.

But, Foerster said, his daughter is “doing all right. We’re just now starting to actually settle down.” They’ve moved into a duplex owned by the Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority.

Foerster doesn’t expect to ever be able to afford his own home. Since the fire, he has been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD).

“You don’t realize what you’ve lost until you lose it,” he said. “There are a lot of nights that Amber has cried on my shoulder ...